Improvement in mounting ordnance



screw not shown.) The othe j the carriage stands.

'It also has two upright stan "This werks ina screw-sheath whichhas 'ajoint- Nirn rares PATENT OFFICE.

inieeovsmeur aN MOUNTING oanNANoE.

Specification forming part of' Letters Pate nt No. aaesmunreu August 25,1563.

T0 @ZZ 1071.012?, t 'may concern:

Be it known that I, MOSES STODDARD, of the city of Buffalo, county of Erie, and State of N ew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in MountingOrdnance; and I do hereby declare that the following `is a' full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which- Figure I is a sectional elevation, showing the gun as-niounted. Fig. I'I is a planoi' the gun-carriage, the gun being removed. Fig III is a rear end elevation, (the elevatingr figures are details of several parts. j

The nature of this invention 4relates to so mounting the' 'gun upon its carriage that one person :may obtain complete controlV over the gun to adjust or sight it to bear upon any given object without moving or changing the position of the carriage, and irrespective of the irregularities of the ground upon which Reference-letters of like naine and kind iu. dicate like parts in each of the figures.

A represents the main axle; B, wheels; C, trail; D, braces connecting thetrail-pieee on either side with the axle to resist lateral strain 5 E, gun.

The piece of ordnance to be used is mounted upon a compound turn-table, which consists of two tables or plates, F and G. The lower plate, G, has a projecting arm, g', to receive a traverse-nut ofthe leveling-screw, and two journals, g2, which journals work in appropriatabearings vin -the stanchions H. The stanchious H are fastened to the head of the trail-piece, as represented inFig. II. The upper plate, F, has a lip; f, which drops downwardly in' order toreceive an eyebolt, f2. chi'ons, f3, with snit-able journal boxes or'bearings to receive the trunnion's of the gun.,y The king-bolt z' connects the two plates together. j

J represents the elevating screw,l shaft.

connection `,to the trail-piece, as shown at j- It has a vertical position. The top of this screw-shaft is fashioned into a ball, which ball 'works in a'jcorrespon'ding soel'iet,v K, which socket is' connected to thenuder side of the nut, f", which i tered in the eye ofthe stanchion M.

turn-table 'ma its journals irrespective of the i 'the gun, so that he may quickly and w facility bring the gun accurately to b carriage.

gun near the breech,as shown in Fig.` I. K are -hand-'pins projecting from screw-shaft.

' L represents a screw-shaft which has a neri-,

'zontal position, and is for adjusting the 4later- .al or right and left positions of the gun. The screw part of this` shaft works in a-traverses centeredinthe eyeboltfg. It ough a collar, m-, which is een- The' stanchion M is connected to and projects from the trail-piece, as shown in Figs. II and III'. The eyebolt']c2 is connected to the upper plate, F, so that it may turn slightly therein. e lBy turning this screw-shaft the upper plate of the bev moved as desired, and thereby-change the position of the gun laterally, either right or left.` e lN is ascrew-'shaftforleveling thev gunwith: out reference tothe position of the carriage. This has a vertical position and passes downwardly through a collar, n', whichis centered -in the eye of the arm y', and thence through a nut, p, which iscenteredin the eye of the studO. The stud() is fastened lto and projects from the head ofthe trail-piece, as shown in Fig. III. By turning this screw-,shaft the lower plate, G, will be caused to vmove in g2 in either direction desired, and thereby level the gun with reference to ranging its sightsin a vertical plane. A spiritlevel should be placed upon the upper plate, F, in order to determine withaccuracy when the table (and thereby the gun) is brought to the desired level. This leveling is obtained rregularities of the ground upon-whichthe carriage stands.

The eyes in each of the devices in which the traverse-nuts l'and collars before referred to are centered are sufficiently large to allow of any required movement upon their centers i'or the adjustment .of the gun. The adjustingvscrews are in reach of the person who sights ith great ear upon any object without changing the position of the No matter if the) carriage stands upon unlevel groundfwith one wheel up and the other down, the gun may with equal facility and accuracy be adjusted and made to bear upon the object sought.

' I .have here described the mechanism by also passes thr which I am enabled to accomplish these rcs'ults'; but I do not intend to confine myself toA the particular mechanism here described, as the same results may be accomplished by other combinations of mechanism;

These improvements are applieal'ile tov any kind of guns and gun-carriages for field-an tillery,\vhcthe1. madeof Wood7 cast oi* wrought iron7 or a combination ol' these materials. They are also equally applicable to ship, field, o1' siege ordnance.

Vhat Ielaim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is f l. Leveling the gun with reference to ranging its sights in a-\'e1-tieal plane without regai-d to the position of the carriage, substantially as herein described.

2. The combination and arrangement of appropriate nwehnnsm with a gun and gun-cai'- riage by'ivhicb the g'nn may be eleyaied, leveled, and moved right oi` left by one person while. in the act ol' sig'lltingfv7 substantially as hei-ein described.

Mosns sTonDAnn.

fitnessesa Gno. W. WALLACE, E. I5. FoRBUsH. 

